Come By the Hills
by Sapientia
Summary: Kinda sad, no real plot - like a brief filler of before Cheyenne.


Come By the Hills...  
  
  
(Hiya all! Well, here's my little author's notes before the story starts. First off, though I doubt many ppl know this song, I  
didn't write it. Come to think of it, who KNOWS who wrote this song lol. It's an old, old Irish song that was adapted by  
Loreena McKennitt. //-^ And also, I don't own Gundam Wing or any of their respective characters, even though I think I  
speak for many, many ppl when I say "But I damn sure WISH I did!" But, aside from that, I think everything else here is  
mine... I know this isn't exactly one of my better ones, but I really needed to write SOMETHING, no da? Ok, ja ne  
peoples.)   
  
  
The warm late June wind blew across the colony. It was artificial, this warm wind and lovely sunset, but was just fine for  
Zacha. She sat on the rooftop of her present home, one knee curled up to her chest, the other dangling over the ledge. The  
wind tossed a few locks of her very long butter blonde hair over her eye, in which she absently tucked behind her ear. Zacha  
looked up at the sky, her green-blue eyes sparkling as they locked onto the sight of the waking stars. And as serene as the  
coming night was, half the colony was just waking up. And of all noises she heard, one sound caught her attention most  
importantly above all - the sound of a baby's cry in the room below her.   
Zacha climbed back into the house and walked over to the small makeshift crib and gently lifted a 5 month old baby girl.  
Holding her carefully, she made her way back to the roof as the sun was just barely visible. Zacha rocked the small girl  
gently, then turned her skyward. "See those stars, baby?" she said soothingly. "That blue one right over there is Earth. And  
one day, you, me and Kio are going to live there forever and ever. There, you'll have everything you want. You'll never  
have to worry about money, or always re-stitching your clothes, or where your next meal comes from... When we get to  
Earth, everything will be wonderful.."   
Zacha smiled and turned the baby back to her, and looked deeply into her eyes. Bright blue-green; the same as Zacha's.  
And a smile so full of life. Strawberry blonde hair, softly tanned skin... The most beautiful girl Zacha could have ever seen.  
And she had the honor of honestly being able to say to herself that she was her daughter. Pulling down the shoulder of her  
peasant blouse, she drew the small girl in and began to nurse her. And as they sat, Zacha began to hum, then sing a song  
that was older than the first thoughts of the colony.   
"Come by the hills to the land where fancy is free. And stand where the peaks reach the sky, and the rocks reach the sea.  
Where the rivers run clear and the bracken is gold in the sun. And the cares of tomorrow must wait till this day is done.."   
  
Time seemed to crawl by as all became aware that presently they were in a calm before a storm - talks of war spread about  
like a swarm of locusts, and many people had heard rumor of rebellion that would start the war and change history for space  
forever. But this was just a rumor -wasn't it? By now the Hazzard's main gang number was well over 200, and had about  
478 rescued children. All of whom were managed by Zacha.   
But as hectic as days and nights were becoming, there was always time for her to visit one house or another to deposit  
food, clothes, or just spend time with the fifteen or so kids per house. The good thing about having their territory so vast  
was that they could spread them out so they would still be together but not cramped, like Zacha was only a year or two ago.   
The children knew that things in space and on Earth weren't perfect, but that didn't matter. That dream was alive - that  
dream of peace where people could walk about the land, totally unafraid of getting hurt or killed. Only very few had  
actually ever been to Earth, which made the dream even more delicious. And one starry evening, after lights-out, five little  
children rolled to face each other and exchange these fragile dreams in only the sweetest and softest of whispers. As her  
turn came up Megan shared her part of the dream, saying "Come by the hills to the land where life is a song. And sing while  
the birds fill the air with their joy all day long. Where the trees sway in time, and even the wind sings in tune. And cares of  
tomorrow must wait till this day is done..."  
  
  
Months came and went, and all were gradually effected by starts of war. Many gangs had either vanished or merged with  
others, trying to become strong enough to survive. Holidays like Thanksgiving were the hardest, as it was getting to be  
terribly difficult to come by enough food to feed all. Christmas was difficult for those children who actually knew the  
traditions, and almost all of the children weren't told about Santa Claus - it would only have complicated things more, as  
gifts were harder to come by than the food. But in the end, none of that really mattered. They were alive and fairly healthy,  
and that's all that counted.   
Everyone knew the war was coming and all were preparing as best they could. Reports were heard about bands of rebels  
forging together to fight "the enemy", which at the moment could have been anyone. Oz was becoming a threat, as were  
Romafellar and the Alliance. And as March pushed into April, and the war between Earth and the colonies intensified,  
rewards were set out for anyone who had information on these rebel groups - especially the Gundam pilots. OZ military  
police searched all over the colony for Zacha, as they had found she had personal ties with the pilots. But she had always  
evaded them, luring them into a deadly trap each time.   
Many of the teenage gang members were quite concerned for both Zacha and their colony. What if she was caught and  
killed? Or if the pilots that she assured everyone would save them failed? What if Earth and OZ decided to destroy the  
colonies? Four-Fingers, Zacha's right hand man, was in his early forties, and was originally from northern Scotland. Nights  
pressed tighter and tighter, and many gangs had entirely vanished. Hiding was becoming more difficult, as was the urge to  
scream from tension. Hours passed, and more and more reports came in over the radio about the current war conditions.  
The young men in the house sat in silent tension, worried about what news tomorrow's broadcast would bring. Four-Fingers  
turned the nob of the radio off, and pulled one of the younger boys onto his lap. All eyes were on him as he attempted to  
soothe the frazzled boys. "Come by the hills to the land where legend remains. Where stories of old stir the heart, and may  
yet come again. Where the past has been lost, and the future has yet to be won. And the cares of tomorrow must wait till  
this day is done.."   
  
  
Another summer had blossomed and was passing as July had blurred into August. The war between Space and Earth was at  
a point of no return. But in Zacha's life a bigger battle was being waged; Kio had developed tuberculosis, which had been  
passed to Zacha's daughter, Angela. But the baby's immune system wasn't as strong as Kio's; she was only a year and five  
months. And her cough was so bad... Zacha went everywhere, putting herself at constant risk of being caught trying to buy  
or steal medicine from somewhere, as hospitals were told by OZ that if they had been giving help to any space rebels that  
there would be grave consequences. She felt so helpless..  
What could she do? Everyone on colony knew Zacha's many faces, and the faces of her gang. This was torture... By the end  
of July, a large majority of the gang and children were getting used to constantly going to bed hungry for days on end. Kio  
was coughing violently, but Angela's was worse. She couldn't keep going like this.. Other children knew what was  
happening, and that their mother would be very sad when the baby died. So one evening before bed, they each gave her an  
extra hug and kiss, and told her all of their dreams of Earth. Much later, around midnight, Zacha paced around the room,  
listening to the baby cough.   
Taking Angela in her arms, she carried her to the roof where the breeze was cool and one could see the stars and Earth.  
Angela was pale, and her fever was raging. Angela looked up at her mother with her hazy blue-green eyes. "Mama.." she  
said with a slight whimper then a cough. Zacha knew she wouldn't make it through the night. But she also didn't want her to  
get scared if she saw her mother crying and praying in Latin. So with misty eyes Zacha rather tried to soothe her girl, lulling  
her into a gentle sleep.   
"Come by the hills to the land where fancy is free. And stand where the peaks reach the sky and the rocks reach the sea.  
Where the rivers run clear and the bracken is gold in the sun. And cares of tomorrow must wait, till this day is... done..." A  
single tear ran down Zacha's cheek as her daughter fell asleep. 


End file.
